How to Fix Food
My three-part strategy to get started.
I do a lot of whining about all the climate problems with our food system, so in my latest Eating the Earth column I suggest three ways our government can help solve them. If you need a Too Long Don’t Read, the three ways are promoting alternative proteins, attacking food waste and investing in agricultural innovation - and unfortunately, the otherwise climate-friendly Inflation Reduction Act goes 0-for-3.
But it’s not too long, so please do read.
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/food-and-farms/3-smart-ways-the-us-can-grow-more-food-while-emitting-less-carbon
Tamar and I also talked about this stuff in our latest Climavores episode about the global food crisis, and we added a fourth strategy: Kill biofuels. I only mentioned that in passing in the column, because it ain’t gonna happen; the IRA actually expands biofuels. Anyway, please subscribe to the podcast. The response so far has been great.
I've just read your NYT piece from last week, and see you're writing a book on the topic. As a Cambridge conservation scientist very largely focused on the overwhelming issue of how to meet humanity's growing demand for food at least cost to biodiversity and the climate I thought it was very impressive, and also thought you might find some of our results relevant to your arguments.
Here are links to two:
https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jzo.12920?af=R#
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0138-5
Happy to chat or send more if you're interested.
Andrew Balmford